Free Motion to Consolidate Cases - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:04-cv-00501-MCW

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Filed 05/26/2004

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS _ CLR TIMBER HOLDINGS, INC., Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 04-501C (Judge Braden)

PLAINTIFF'S UNOPPOSED MOTION TO TRANSFER AND CONSOLIDATE Pursuant to Rule 42(a) of the Rules of the Court of Federal Claims ("RCFC"), plaintiff CLR Timber Holdings, Inc. requests that CLR Timber Holdings, Inc. v. United States, CoFC No. 04-501C be transferred to Judge Williams and consolidated with Blue Lake Forest Products, Inc. v. Untied States, CoFC No. 01-570C and Timber Products Co. v. United States, CoFC No. 01627C, which are consolidated and pending before Judge Williams. (A courtesy copy of this motion has been provided to Judge Williams.) Counsel for defendant has reviewed and approved this motion. Plaintiff makes this request in order to avoid unnecessary costs, duplication of efforts and delay, and to ensure consistent application of the law to cases that involve common facts and legal issues.1

On March 29, 2004, pursuant to RCFC 40.2(b), plaintiff filed a notice of indirectlyrelated cases in Blue Lake Forests Products, Inc. v. United States, CoFC No. 01-570C, notifying the Court of the common facts and legal issues involved in all three cases (CoFC No. 01-570C, CoFC No. 01-627C and CoFC No. 04-501C). 1

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Case 1:04-cv-00501-MCW

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Filed 05/26/2004

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Consolidating the CLR Timber Holdings case with the Timber Products and Blue Lake Forest Products cases now pending before Judge Williams would greatly promote judicial efficiency because of the substantial overlap in common issues of fact and law between all three cases. See, e.g., Karuk Tribe of California v. United States, 27 Fed. Cl. 429, 433 (1993) (a primary objective of consolidation is to prevent separate actions from producing conflicting results, which can occur when cases require judicial determinations of the same facts).

All three cases involve allegations that the United States Forest Service wrongfully suspended and delayed certain timber sales on national forests within the area governed by the Northwest Forest Plan jointly adopted by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. The suspensions of these sales all occurred in the wake of an injunction issued by the United States District Court in the Western District of Washington, Oregon Natural Resources Council Action v. Forest Service, No. 98-942 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 26, 1999), and all three timber sale contracts are on the same standard 2400-6 type form and involve substantially the same pertinent terms and conditions. All three cases share common issues of liability, and although the damages alleged in these cases involve somewhat different elements, there are several common issues of law regarding the amount and type of damages, if any, due to each plaintiff. Timber Products Co., Blue Lake Forest Products and CLR Timber Holdings are all represented by the same law firm, and Richard Schroeder is defendant's counsel of record in all three cases.

Answers to the complaints in the Blue Lake Forest Products and Timber Products cases have been filed, and discovery is well underway. Much of this discovery also applies directly to

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the CLR Timber Holdings case and will not have to be repeated if the Court grants this motion to transfer and consolidate.

Whether these three cases are resolved on cross-motions for summary judgment or go to trial, the evidence in these cases will likely overlap substantially and involve many of the same events, witnesses and documents. Accordingly, the transfer and consolidation of the CLR Timber Holdings case with the Blue Lake Forest Products and Timber Products cases would greatly promote judicial efficiency and avoid duplication of effort by the parties and the Court.

For each of the foregoing reasons, this motion to transfer and consolidate should be granted.

Respectfully submitted,

s/Alan I. Saltman SALTMAN & STEVENS 1801 K Street, N.W. Suite M-110 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 452-2140 Counsel for Plaintiff

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Case 1:04-cv-00501-MCW

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OF COUNSEL: Gary G. Stevens (also counsel of record for Blue Lake Forest Products and Timber Products Co. in CoFC Nos. 01-570C and 01-627C) Richard W. Goeken SALTMAN & STEVENS, P.C. 1801 K Street, N.W. Suite M-110 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 452-2140 Dated: May 26, 2004

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